OTHER STUFFAGE
Thurs 24th June
Many thanks to Brian for his informative display on Bike Maintenance and Repairs. It is to be hoped that this will happen on a frequent basis so that more riders can "bring along their cycling problems".
20th May - The Paris-Brest-Paris with Jim Brown
Every four years amateur riders attempt this 1200 Km ride - which must be completed in 90 Hours. It is the oldest cycling event run regularly on open roads. Jim Brown of Stevenage CTC finished it three times in the 1990s and lived to tell the tale. He will be doing just that in this talk which will be illustrated by slides of the event.
Wheelers Hit the Pavé
After an early train from Broxbourne six Wheelers caught the 9:05 Eurostar to Lille and then, after suitable refreshment (and some confusion about tickets), on to Orchies. From there a walk of a mile took them to the pavé where there were big marquees with wide screen TV installed. There they spent a happy hour enjoying yet more refreshment and watching the approaching race.
They took up their positions on the pavé as helicopters approached then saw the lead bunch with Boonen and Cancellara followed by many other bunches, stragglers and finally the team cars loaded with bikes. All over in a few minutes so into the marquee again to watch the final stages on the big screen - the Belgians subdued as Boonen's chance faded.
Time still to visit another bar to refresh the parts the previous refreshments had not reached then back to Lille for a meal and Eurostar. Back in Broxbourne by 11:00 pm. A full day!
18th February - A Moroccan Trek by John Butcher
Come to the St. Margaretsbury Sports and Social Club for a talk by John Butcher. A powerpoint slide show of JB in August 2008 walking and touring from Marrakech through the Bougmez Valley with a group from the Ware Joggers. The presentation will be from 8.45 to 10.00 and will include a Q&A session.
Basic Mechanics by Rob Godfrey
Rob Godfrey, manager of Marshall's Cycles (Hertford) came to the St Margarets Sports & Social Club (25\02\10) in order to give a talk on preventative maintenance and cycle care. Showing great enthusiam and knowledge he demonstrated some of the basic concepts regarding tyre changing, cable adjusting and how to set up brakes and gears. Much of the evening was devoted to a Q&A session where he excelled not only with the simple questions but also the highly technical ones.
Bike Fitting Evening
More than 30 members and guests gathered at St. Margaretsbury Sports and Social Club on 21st Jan to hear Mal Pires and Brian Stanwick explain how they measure and fit riders to bikes. Mal emphasised the subtle differences that were needed in order to accommodate an individual's size, shape and fitness and the type of cycling they wanted to do. He also emphasised the problems that might arise from bad positioning including both neck and foot problems. Renato Davis was a patient guinea-pig!
Brian finished with a couple of presentations on the manufacture of the kit he imports from Italy. The first showed the production of custom frames at the Viner factory and the second some of the Miche production processes.
THURSDAY 21st JANUARY - GUEST SPEAKER
On 21st January 2010 (8.45) BRIAN STANWYCK will be at the St Margaretsbury Sports and Social Club to give a demonstration on how to adjust your bike to achieve the best position to suit your goals. With many riders not understanding this science it is not surprising how many suffer injuries, especially in the back and knees, from poor positioning and riding technique. This talk is also open to non-HWCC members, and the Bar will be open from 8.00pm.
Wheelers' Xmas Dinner Photo Gallery
On Sunday 13th December we gathered at the The White Horse Hotel, Hertingfordbury for lunch and prize-giving with the trophies and awards presented by Sylvia Hayden. Thanks to Angelo we have a fine collection of excellent photos.
Evening 10 League - Final Standings
Congratulations to Barry Page who has won the 2009 Scratch Competition with 104 points - 7 ahead of second placed Phil Young. Barry was beaten into second place in the Handicap Competition by a very strong perfomance by junior rider Renato Davis in his first season of racing. Doug Davis took the Vet on Standard title.
Clubmanship Cup and Centenary Trophy.
Andy Crawley was the winner of the Clubmanship Cup for the highest number of points gained in the Sunday Club Runs competition. Peter Walton earned the Centenary Trophy for the highest mileage done on non-competitive events - (Audaxes and Charity Rides).
Powell Powers Upwards
Alex Powell entered the Digswell Hill Climb Event and powered his way to victory. His time of 3mins 2secs beat the 2009 Out of Season BAR Winner, (Barry Page) by 4 secs. Despite his victory he was disappointed with his time. Maybe next time he'll use a lighter bike with more appropriate tyres. Full results >>
Last Chance Points Grabber Road Race - 27th September
An exciting race was won in style by Paul Thursfield (Tunstall Wheelers). A bunch sprint of eight riders finished in 2hrs 44mins, 2mins 3secs ahead of the rest of the field. Second was Jonathon Shubert and Scott Holmes took third. See here for a full report and results.
DOUG DAVIS - 1950-2009
On the evening of 11th August 2009 one of our senior members, Doug Davies, was in collision with a stationary lorry on the A414 a few yards west from the Harlow roundabout. Doug sustained very serious injuries and he was quickly taken to the nearby Princess Alexandra Hospital. Sadly, despite the medical team's best attentions, he could not be saved and he passed away in the early hours of the next morning. All our thoughts are with the Davis family at this time.
Gottago4it
After driving up to Newcastle under Lyme via Derby to meet in-laws, Peter cycled to Goostrey (and back) just north of Holmes Chapel in order to race the Dukinfield 50 (J4/16). In windy and occasionally wet conditions he was timed at 2:24:34 a not unreasonable time for his first 50 of the year. The next morning (Sunday) he competed in the Mid Shropshire Wheelers 50 near Whitchurch (D50/3R) in a dismal time of 2:33:36, despite the fact that the course and conditions were good. In order to recover some self-belief he then cycled from Macclesfield to Buxton in the Peak District via The Cat and Fiddle (the highest pub in England).